Rampart's new shareholders
An exciting next chapter...
Dear Ramparters,
Just two weeks short of us being in business for 18 months, I have some exciting news to share.
On Tuesday, Rampart News Holdings completed a $2.3 million transaction with a group of five financial investors, comprising a capital raising alongside a direct sell-down of just under four per cent of my shareholding. This transaction reduced my stake in the company to 92 per cent.
Those investors are:
- Ashok Jacob, executive chairman of Ellerston Capital;
- David Gyngell, former CEO of Nine Entertainment Co;
- Doug Tynan, chief investment officer of GCQ Funds Management;
- Retired neurosurgeon Michael Morgan AO, formerly of Macquarie University Hospital and Mayo Clinic, and his wife Elizabeth; and
- Sam Brougham, director of Ceres Capital.
While I've listed their professional details for context, each of these individuals has invested in a personal capacity.
Rampart didn't need external capital to continue on its already steep trajectory as one of Australia's fastest-growing media brands. The company was profitable in financial 2025, profitable again in financial 2026, even after the rapid growth in our headcount in recent months, and would've been profitable in 2027.
But with our business model now well-proven, I decided there is no time like the present to turbocharge investment in Rampart's journalism (which in turn will boost our audience and revenue growth); to establish an external market valuation for the company; and to advance to our next phase with an incredibly high-quality group of equity partners.
I look forward to sharing our plans for that investment very soon, but broadly speaking, it will mean new hires; new editorial verticals, events and podcasts; and improved technology – all congruous with our vision of producing deep and perceptive business and finance journalism for Australia's most discerning subscribers.
I'm honoured by the enthusiasm and smarts of my growing team at Rampart, and one of the most rewarding things about this transaction for me is what it means for the value of their interests in Rampart's employee share option plan. My ambition has always been to build a company and newsroom culture of owner-journalists who share meaningfully in the financial returns of their own work, and Rampart is now well on its way to being that place.
It's important for me to note today that Rampart's new shareholders have each made an iron-clad commitment to Rampart's editorial independence – and those are not just empty words. Any instance of editorial interference will constitute a default event under our shareholders' agreement, thereby triggering a forced divestment of their shares on unfavourable terms. I am not aware of any other Australian publisher or broadcaster whose editorial independence is so hard-wired. The shareholders agreed to these terms willingly because they fully appreciate that Rampart's economic value flows from its total intellectual freedom.
I will also continue to hold the organisation to a very high standard of pecuniary interest and conflict of interest disclosure.
While the investors will be uninvolved in editorial judgements, I expect them to be important sources of counsel for me in other areas.
I want to thank Rampart's subscribers for enabling us to do what we love. Your support is never taken for granted and I'm excited to bring you even more and even better journalism in the coming months.
Cheers,
Joe Aston
